Safety is Important at a Stage Hypnosis Show

Safety is Important at a Stage Hypnosis Show

A Professional Stage Hypnotist Will Know What to Do

Honestly, during a live hypnosis performance, anything can happen. That is why it’s so vital that you hire a professional hypnotist to perform at your event. Your audience’s safety is important at a stage hypnosis show. A seasoned stage hypnotist will know exactly what to do to avert potential danger or misconduct.

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Last night at my 10 PM hypnosis show on August 8th, 2017, I walk on stage as usual and begin to introduce my show to the audience. A kid of around 14 yrs old kept disrupting the beginning of my show; shouting things out from the side of the stage. He then came up onto my stage, actually during the introduction of the show, and stands and shouts out, “My mother is looking for her child support from you!” Clearly, I could see he was just trying to be funny and gain attention. Not too much of a deal at this point as it has happened before over my vast career as a stage hypnotist. The rules though are pretty clear. When someone is performing a live show, whether it is a band or a comedian, hypnotist or magician etc, you just don’t walk up on their stage uninvited. Heckling from the audience is one thing and sometimes acceptable (in the right setting with comedians perhaps in a comedy club). You certainly don’t usually heckle a hypnotist though and you certainly don’t come up right on to his stage during a show without permission. This kid came onto my stage three times during my pre-talk introduction; shouting attention-seeking things out. Clearly he was hell bent on disrupting my show and I knew I needed to squash it.

Every time he came off the stage after shouting something, he stood with a group of friends to the side of the stage pretending to box one another. Teenagers will be teenagers and I get that.

Despite this major distraction I continued with my hypnosis show.

There is a point in time in my show where I ask for volunteers to come up on stage and be part of the show as a hypnotized volunteer. Feeling already distracted, I asked for volunteers; the entire time I’m keeping my eye on the rowdy kid. When done right, a professional hypnosis show can be very technical and mentally exhausting to the stage hypnotist. You have to think of everyone’s safety and be in a place of full mental concentration to be able to actually place volunteers in a trance. Safety and the overall management of the stage is number one and I wasn’t feeling I was in a safe environment or that the stage could be effectively managed. Keep in mind, this is an outside stage with people walking in front and to the sides and even behind it.

When I asked for volunteers, the disruptive kid came up on my stage wearing a backpack with his arms high in the air like he felt he had achieved something. As soon as I saw him come up onto the stage I quickly told him to leave the stage again, indicating he would not be in my hypnosis show. He refused to move so I placed one hand on his wrist and the other just below the back of his neck and escorted him off the steps. Meanwhile, other volunteers and members of the audience were still coming up on stage. I quickly removed him from the stage making it clear he could not be a volunteer.

He once again tried to come back up on the stage. At this point, I took his wrist and back of his neck once more and firmly moved him off the stage. As a former Police Officer these hold techniques are perfectly safe and cause no harm, but they are firm enough to escort someone. This time I told him I was moving him to the road, which is immediately behind the stage; literally 30 yards.

As I escorted him he was shouting at me, “Let Go!” and telling me that I was “a prick,” along with other obscene remarks. At this point, I am thinking to myself… I need help, so I called for the sound guy to come and oversee this situation. On doing so, with his other hand, the kid produced a large butterfly knife with the blade showing. He pushed it towards me shouting that he would cut me up.

I was very calm and insisted, “Son you’re making a big mistake, put the knife down.” At this point, I had escorted him to the road and in front of the sound guy’s trailer. I kept reinforcing, “Son, put the knife down you’re making a big mistake.” He refused to put down the knife and was becoming more irrational. My show music was still playing and since I play my show from my phone, I was in airplane mode. I indicated to the sound guy to call for the Police.

On hearing that we were calling the Police the kid shoved me with the knife still in his hand. Since I was in close proximity of him I thought it best to let go and to adopt a more defensive stance. I have been stabbed before as a serving Officer and it is critical to block and protect the chest and vital organs with your hands. In the past this has saved my life and I have a scar on the palm of my right hand to prove it.

The kid broke free and with his friends started to run. I informed the audience when I arrived back on stage that unfortunately the show was canceled for tonight and I asserted, “If I don’t get that kid arrested and find out his name, all future shows would be canceled as well.” Audience members provided his name and he was quickly arrested. I also informed the audience that a potential danger was averted. The fact of the matter was that a kid was walking around with a big knife and freely wielding it. He was not only a danger to me, but also to everyone at the show.

“I do want to thank the audience and people of Jerome, Idaho for their positivity, support and love during this incident. I am happy to announce that the comedy hypnosis shows will go on today as planned at 7 PM and 10 PM.”

No-one has the right to interfere with or interrupt a live performance. Members of the audience must be respectful and act like an audience. Anyone you see not behaving as an audience member should be escorted away so that you, the audience at large, can enjoy the show.

Have you ever seen a serious act of violence or major disruption at a stage hypnotist show? Reach out on my Facebook and tell me about it.

Richard Barker

Richard Barker is an expert comedy stage hypnotist, board certified trainer, author, entertainer and keynote speaker. As the Incredible Hypnotist, Richard has performed his hypnosis comedy show in over 38 countries. With a Master's Degree in Education, he enjoys helping others to understand what modern hypnosis is and dispelling hypnosis myths.